Voluntary sector

Documenting decisions (Voice)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will have changed the language of care. Language will be easily understood, positive and not create or compound stigma (Pg 87).

This means:

There will be a shared language of care and approach between services and professionals so that families are not navigating between competing standards and expectations (Pg 54).
Professionalised language will not be used to describe meetings and experiences (Pg 87). The words ‘respite’ (Pg 88), placement’ and ‘contact’ will not be used (Pg 24) and changes will be made to stop using similar ‘system language’.
Society and the media will be mindful of how individual care stories are talked about and publicised. Care experienced people’s experiences will not be sensationalised and everyday examples of real-life scenarios will be promoted instead (Pg 88).
Scotland will understand that "language creates realities." Those with care experience will hold and own the narrative of their stories and lives (Pg 69).
Simple, caring language will be used in the writing of care files (Pg 69).
The workforce will be considerate and write reports in a clear, relatable way, using plain English (Pg 69). Reports will be written with the assumption the young person will read them later (Pg 69).
All reports and submissions to a Children’s Hearing will be accurate, of high quality with all information that decision-makers require. Historical information that is not the focus of the reasons for the Hearing discussion will only be included where there is a need to provide context (Pg 42). Decision making in relation to any sibling separation will be accurately recorded and reviewed (Pg 62).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Listening (Voice)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, the way Scotland listens to children, families and the workforce will look vastly different (Pg 32). Scotland will be better at listening, reflecting on and doing what children want and need (Pg 12/30)

This means:

Scotland will listen to, and keep listening to, its children (Pg 30).
Listening will have fundamentally shifted the balance of power and will provide a basis for shared language and understanding (Pg 32). Active listening and engagement will be a fundamental part of how Scotland makes decisions and supports children and families (Pg 37).
Effort will be made to ensure that quieter voices are listened to and understood, including infants and nonverbal children and those with learning disabilities. No one will be considered ‘hard to reach’ (Pg 32). The challenges of listening to babies, infants and young children will be recognised. Trusted adults who interpret their voices and behaviours will so with care and consideration. The overall context of their care and the assets of their parents will be actively considered (Pg 32).
Decision-makers will listen with an expectation that what they hear will form the basis of their decisions (Pg 32). Listening will start with the expectation that it will lead to change (Pg 13).
The pain associated with the telling and retelling of stories will be recognised. Listening will be therapeutic and provide opportunity for healing. Children will not have to describe the most painful parts of their lives at every turn if they do not want to. (Pg 32).
The workforce and decision-makers will be given time and space to really listen to what children want and need. They will be supported to listen and be provided with age and stage appropriate resources with creative and thoughtful options to meet a diverse range of needs through meaningful relationships (Pg 30/32/33/37).
Scotland will listen to care experienced children, young people and care experienced adults in the delivery, inspection and continuous improvement of services and care (Pg 37). Services will be creative in their listening (Pg 32).
There will never be another review or judicial inquiry on the scale of the Independent Care Review because participation and listening are forming part of everything within Scotland’s ‘care system’ (Pg 37).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Participation and engagement (Voice)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, children and families and care experienced adults will participate in decisions that affect them. Where children can no longer live with their family of origin they will be supported to understand the narrative of their lives in ways that are appropriate and have meaning for them (Pg 69).

This means:

The voice of every person with care experience will be heard in their care journey (Pg 32).
Children will be appropriately involved in decision-making about their care, with all those involved properly listening and responding to what they want and need (Pg 12).
Children will be provided with all the support they need to fully participate and be heard in Hearings (Pg 42).
Decision making will take into account what those closest to the children report rather than relying on a professional hierarchy (Pg 13/14).
A concerted effort will be made to hear more from parents and wider family members with children who are on the edge of or in care (Pg 32).
Care experienced children, young people and adults will have ownership over their own stories and personal data so that they can understand and influence how their stories are shared (Pg 31).
Life story work will follow the lead of a child or young person and will not create or compound stigma (Pg 69).
Adoptive families will be aware of their responsibility to support their children to understand their life history (Pg 75).
If a child or adult wishes to access their care records they will be properly supported through that process (Pg 69).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Intensive family support (Family)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, whatever issues families face, intensive family support will be available, proactive and characterised by 10 principles: community-based; responsive and timely; work with family assets; empowerment and agency; flexible; holistic and relational; therapeutic; non-stigmatising; patient and persistent; and underpinned by children's rights (Pg 57-58).

This means:

The purpose of intensive family support will be explicitly understood across Scotland as being to: (1) Keep families together and avoid children going into care wherever it is safe to do so; (2) Interrupt and address intergenerational cycles of trauma; and (3) Sustain meaningful and loving relationships (Pg 52).
If families require intensive support they will get it. They will not be required to fight for it (Pg 52/ 74/ 76).
The scaffolding of the system will have shifted from managing risks and needs to supporting families to find their own solutions (Pg 52).
Holistic family support and individualised planning with the principles of 'one family one plan' wraparound support will be available for all families in and on the edges of care (Pg 52).
Multi-agency partners will plan strategically for both family carers and child services, based on outcomes from aggregated individual family and child plans. This will include robust concurrency planning for carers (Pg 67-68).
There will be recognition that there are some families experiencing particular issues who are much more likely to come into contact with the ‘care system’ (Pg 52). Their rights will be upheld and their needs will be met. In particular:

Support will be available for all families caring for disabled children and those with additional support needs (Pg 52).
Care planning (where a parent has a learning disability) must be specific and supportive, working with their assets to build on their capabilities as parents (Pg 53).
The imprisonment of those with parenting responsibilities will be prevented wherever possible. The presumption against short custodial sentences will progressed and the needs, views and rights of children will be taken into account as part of sentencing decisions (Pg 53).
If parents are imprisoned, there will be wraparound support for families affected. Parents facing imprisonment will be supported to make plans for their children in a way that avoids emergency removal and a panicked response.
Criminal Courts will actively consider the impact on children and ensure proper dialogue between services for joined up planning. Where it is safe to do so, the relationship between child and parent will be supported, and children of imprisoned parents will find the experience of prison visiting is as positive and non-stigmatising as possible (Pg 53).
The imprisonment of pregnant mothers will be avoided. For mothers who are in prison at the time of giving birth, there will be support for them to care for and remain with their babies for as long as possible where it is safe to do so. They will be fully involved in all decisions about their baby and be given all the support they need to nurture. Support will follow them when they leave prison so there is a smooth transition of care (Pg 53/54).
Services supporting parental substance use and statutory children's services will compassionately collaborate with each other, ensuring supports are in place that holistically assess children within their families and support them to stay with families whenever it is safe to do so. Access to rehabilitation and support will be more readily available (Pg 54).
There will be no penalisation of parents who are experiencing domestic abuse and there will be a recognition that violence and abuse within the home happens across Scotland. Early, intensive and domestic abuse informed support will be available for families. There will be consistent practice across Scotland which holds perpetrators of domestic abuse to account and enables effective interventions to create opportunities for change and (Pg 55). All children wherever they live, are protected from all forms of violence (Pg 86).
There will be availability of services to support parents and carers’ mental health at all stages of their parenting journey.
There will be recognition that kinship, adoptive and foster families may need ongoing, intensive support (Pg 20). The principles for intensive family support that wrap around a family must be accessible to these families too (Pg 74).
Families will not be abandoned if children are removed from their care. They will be provided with therapeutic support, advocacy and engagement in line with principles of intensive family support (Pg 63).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Poverty (Family)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, there will have been a significant, ongoing and persistent commitment to ending poverty and mitigating its impacts for Scotland’s children, young people, families, adults and communities (Pg 18). This means:

Poverty will have significantly reduced.
Universal and early help and support services for families will be supporting and assisting families sensitively where poverty is the underlying problem (Pg 47).
The evidence around poverty and child neglect will have been considered and openly discussed to support all children to grow up loved, safe and respected (Pg 18).
Scotland will have worked to break intergenerational cycles of trauma and the link between persistent poverty and intergenerational interaction with the ‘care system’ (Pg 18).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Universal family support (Family)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, the commitment to early intervention and prevention will be realised through holistic support for all families that need it (Pg 46).

This means:

The underlying universal support system will support all families and identify those who need support. Universal services will recognise the role they play as adjacent parts of the wider scaffolding of care (Pg 46).
Scotland will support a broad understanding of the importance of the early years of parenting. Preparation for birth will give parents the opportunity to access universal attachment based parenting education to sit alongside antenatal care (Pg 48).
Support will be provided for all families to care and to nurture their pre-school children, beyond the provision of nursery (Pg 49).
There will have been a significant upscaling in universally accessible family support services (Pg 46).
Families will be provided with support that lasts as long as required. There will be a collective acceptance that for some families this will be a long-term commitment, extending beyond previous standard practice (Pg 52).
All communities will have supportive, universally accessible places out of the home where parents and carers can build relationships, share their parenting experiences and be supported to stay and play with their children (Pg 49).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Advocacy and legal advice (Care)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, all children, young people and families in contact with the ‘care system’ and care experienced adults will have access to independent advocacy support and legal advice and representation if required (Pg 115).

This means:

Families will be supported to understand and advocate for their rights and entitlements (Pg 114-116).
The purpose of advocacy and representation will be clear. Advocacy will not replace rights to legal representation but advocacy and legal representation will have a separate, distinct purpose (Pg 114/116).
Care experienced children, young people and adults will have the right and access to independent advocacy, at all stages of their experience of care and beyond. There will be no upper age limits for accessing advocacy and it will be available for as long as it is needed (Pg 115).
There will be consistent advocacy standards across Scotland that are subject to inspection and regulation (Pg 115).
Independent advocacy organisations will have been commissioned to ensure that advocacy is structurally, financially and psychologically separate from statutory organisations and service providers (Pg 115).
Groups and providers of peer advocacy will be supported to provide meaningful support to families (Pg 115).
There will be no upfront or hidden charges associated with engaging an advocacy worker (Pg 115).
Advocacy workers will be skilled and knowledgeable about the rights and entitlements of children. Specialist advocacy workers will be available to support disabled and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (Pg 115).
Children and their families will have a right to legal advice and representation if required (Pg 116). This includes unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who will have access to legal support, advice and advocacy to navigate the Home Office asylum procedures (Pg 65). Legal advice will also be accessible to children with additional support needs, those living in rural communities and those for whom English is a second language (Pg 61).
Lawyers will act in a way that is accessible, understandable and not overtly adversarial (Pg 116).
Scotland will have considered the creation of an accredited legal specialism to set standards for legal professionals representing children. Those standards will uphold children’s rights, understand trauma and attachment and how to operate in a setting that seeks to uphold children’s wellbeing (Pg 116).
There will be ready access to legal advice and representation when aspects of the 'care system' go wrong. There will be clarity about where care experienced children and young people can turn to for legal redress. All care experienced children and young adults will have access to justice legal remedies such as appeals, reviews and judicial reviews. Access to justice will include access to legal advice for children with additional support needs, those living in rural communities and those for whom English is a second language (Pg 116).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Decision making (Care)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, there will have been a culture change in key institutions responsible for decision making (Pg 14).

This means:

For children and families where decisions are made alongside them

Decision making will be based, first and foremost, on what children and care experienced young adults need and want (Pg 14/ 112).
The starting point for any decision will be how to best protect relationships that are important to children (Pg 30). Secure attachments, based on loving, consistent relationships, will be the bedrock of every decision made about children (Pg 72).
Listening and decision making will be honest and transparent so that everyone understands what has been decided and why (Pg 33).
Decision making must take account of the dynamics of sibling relationships and all sibling voices must be heard. (Pg 62) In Children's Hearings, attention must be paid to the rights of brothers and sisters to ensure that they have all the necessary legal rights to have their voice heard. That must include the notification of forthcoming Hearings about their brothers and sisters and speedy rights of appeal if required (Pg 40).

For families

Family Group Decision Making and mediation will be a common part of decision making (Pg 33).
Kinship family decision making will be supported by and characterised by family group decision making, to explore the breadth and consequences of decisions about where children should live (Pg 74).
Scotland will have challenged power dynamics within all decision making processes to achieve a balance which ensures all decisions taken are in the best interests of the child (Pg 14). There will be a balanced approach to decision making that primarily listens to and focuses on children and their families (Pg 32).
Family Carers can make routine parenting decisions within set guidelines without needing permission each time. Bureaucracy will not be getting in the way of day to day decision making (Pg 105).

For children and adults seeking information ownership

In order for decision-makers to make effective decisions alongside children and families, the right information will be shared at the right time and that those close to children will be heard (Pg 30).
There will have been investment in the development of digital tools that incorporate the principle of information ownership. These will be operating at a scale that allows care experienced children, young people and adults to have control over their information and how it is shared (Pg 35).
The importance of the judgement and knowledge of the workforce who have regular, direct contact with children will be acknowledged. Those working with and alongside children will know where to report information and be confident it will be taken seriously. Pg 36).

For children and families engaged in the Children’s Hearings System

The principles underpinning the Children's Hearings System will be upheld and understood across Scotland's services (Pg 14/89).
Children, young people, and families will be the focus of the whole of the Children's Hearings System (Pg 14) and their legal rights will be upheld and respected (Pg 14/42).
There will have been active consideration and testing of underlying structures, so that the Children’s Hearings System is best placed to truly listen and uphold the legal rights of children, young people, and their families (Pg 14) in accordance with what the Independent Care Review heard. This reconsideration will have been done in an evidence- based manner. Options for change will have been piloted (Pg 40).
The extension of enforcement and compulsion powers will have been tested to support parents and ensure local authorities are fulfilling their obligations to children (Pg 41).
The role of volunteers in the decision making structure of Hearings will have been comprehensively assessed. There will have been a thoughtful, evidence based exploration of alternative models of decision making (Pg 44).
The Children’s Hearings System will have shrunk and specialised and planning will have taken place to facilitate this, including full and proper consideration of implications for the operating model—including the dependency on volunteers (Pg 44).Find out more about the Hearing's for Children Redesign Recommendations.

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Moving on and lifelong support (Care)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland’s care experienced young people will feel safe, happy, loved and prepared as they move from childhood to adulthood and care experienced adults will be able to access help and support when they need it (Pg 92-93).

This means:

Comprehensive thematic reviews of 'transition services' will have taken place; and all those with ongoing parenting responsibility will have explained how they plan to deliver integrated services from childhood to adulthood (Pg 93).
There will be ‘no wrong doors’ for care experienced people. Scotland will support young people as they enter adulthood and this support will be life long and holistic for the children, young people and care experienced adults it cares for, acting at all times like a good parent for whom it has parenting responsibility (Pg 92).Scotland will support young people in becoming independent, stable and self-reliant, while also recognising there may be a need to stay or come home at times. Those under Scotland’s care will have the right to return to care and will be able to access supportive services and nurturing people (p 92).
Young people will be also encouraged to stay in their setting of care for as long as they need or want to. Rules, processes and culture will support that approach. There will be no regulatory or financial barriers for young people to stay with foster carers for as long as is required (Pg 78/92).
When young adults move on to independent living or need to return to a caring environment, all decisions will be made in their best interests and not on the strict application of age criteria (Pg 92).
Residential Care settings will be supported and resourced to keep places open for children and young people in line with ‘continuing care’ legislation. This will not end when children and young people do not want, and are not ready, to leave (Pg 80). Aftercare will be person-centred, with thoughtful planning so that there are no cliff edges out of care and support (Pg 92).
Scotland will have considered and made changes to ensure greater equity and opportunity for care experienced children, young people and adults. That includes increase opportunities for care experienced adults to access employment, training, stable housing and support (Pg 93).
Older care experienced people will have a right to access supportive, caring services for as long as they require them. Those services and the people who work in them, will have a primary focus on the development and maintenance of supportive relationships that help people to access what they need to thrive (Pg 92).
There will be clear communication and streamlining of the range of financial supports available to those with care experience (Pg 93).
All those with ongoing parenting responsibilities for young adults work towards a shared set of aims, values and knowledge (Pg 93).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Relationships (Care)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will have broadened its understanding of risk to ensure a more holistic understanding that includes the risk of children being removed from their family and of not having loving, supportive, ongoing relationships (Pg 16/ 88/104).

This means:

There will have been a shift in focus from the risk of possible harm to the risk of not having stable, long term, loving relationships (Pg 16). This includes the risk to the child of removing them from their family.
Children who have been harmed through relationships have supportive relationships in order to heal (Pg 101).
All children will be supported to continue relationships that are important to them, where it is safe to do so (Pg 63). This includes with birth families, siblings, carers and members of the workforce.
The workforce will be able to maintain relationships with young people who leave a particular care setting and understand that as part of their role (Pg 93). Blanket policies that prevent the maintenance of relationships between young people who leave residential care and workers will have been removed (Pg 79).
Where families wish to maintain relationships with their children, but that contact is prevented, they will be supported to maintain their details so that they can be contacted at a later stage if the young person wishes (Pg 63).
The presumption that children will stay together with their brothers and sisters, wherever it is safe to do so, will be fully implemented. The following will be in place:

An expansive understanding of siblings that includes half, step and adoptive siblings and reflects children's experience of their family lives (Pg 62).
Public service planning and commissioning strategies and procurement that is attuned to the needs of brothers and sisters to promote those relationships and prevent separation (Pg 62).
Robust management processes facilitate and support good practice relating to sibling relationships and addresses any sibling estrangement (Pg 62).
High quality assessments undertaken by the social care and health workforce of the relationship needs of siblings (Pg 62)
Recording practices that reflect the value placed on sibling relationships as a right and a source of well-being. Decision making in relation to any sibling separation is accurately recorded and reviewed (Pg 63).

There will be active consideration about the breadth of adult relationships available when a child is placed in a care setting, so that time away from home feels natural, normal and a good place to be. All short breaks will mirror those routinely in place in wider family networks (with recognised continuity of relationship), and take place in ways that do not create or compound stigma, and help children continue to feel part of the family (Pg 101).
The workforce will have time to develop, focus and reflect on relationships. As well as strengthening supportive networks and valuing the roles of varied people in children’s lives (Pg 23). There will be increased trust in them to make meaningful connections based on instinct and judgement (Pg 24).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Where children live (Care)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, fewer children and families will have interactions with the ‘care system’. Where living with their family is not possible, children will stay with their brothers and sisters where safe to do so and belong to a loving home. The focus of their care will be on building childhoods underpinned by loving, consistent relationships, fun, play, education and opportunity (Pg 59).

This means:

There will be strategic, needs based planning for children so that they are provided with warm, relational, therapeutic, safe, loving homes when they are required (Pg 111).
There will be sufficient availability of safe, loving homes for children removed from their families, and these must be able to accommodate sibling groups where it is safe to do so (Pg 67).

For children cared for by family or friends

Children living in kinship care will get the support they need to thrive (Pg 74).
Kinship is actively explored as a positive place for children to be cared for (Pg 74).
Kinship care is valued. Families will have access to the support and services needed, which is offered freely without kinship carers having to fight for it, including financial support to provide the best care (Pg 74).
Kinship carers will not need to professionalise their role in order to access support. They will be considered part of the broader workforce with access to ongoing supervision, space for reflection and support (Pg 74).

For children who are adopted

Prospective adopting families will have access to all available information and will be supported to make sure children receive the best environment for them to grow up and thrive (Pg 75).
Time and care will be taken to place children appropriately (Pg 75).
Adoptive families will receive the support and attention required to love and care for their children, particularly where the ongoing impact of trauma and broken attachment is felt by the child and the family (Pg 21/ 76). This includes reflective practices, supervision and peer support (Pg 76) so that, wherever possible, adoption breakdown is avoided.
Families who experience an adoption breakdown are supported and the impact of this is recognised (Pg 76).

For children living with foster carers

Foster care is valued. Foster families will have access to the support and services needed. Foster carers are cared for and supported to care, including financial support (Pg 77).
Foster carers know that their primary purpose is to develop nurturing, patient, kind, compassionate, trusting and respectful relationships so that the children in their care feel loved and safe (Pg 77).
There will have been consideration of a national register for Foster Carers (Pg 77).

For children living in residential homes

Residential settings will operate with a cohesive set of values that uphold the rights of the children they are caring for. Those values will be therapeutic, recognising that children require thoughtful, supportive relationships as a basis on which to heal and develop as young adults (Pg 79).
The needs of the children living in a residential home at the time will inform rules as opposed to a blanket set of instructions and restrictions (Pg 79).
Children and young people will have supportive, kind relationships with all staff. The residential provider will be supported in finding the right balance between having consistent core staff along with the flexibility of additional support that works for the children and young people (Pg 79).

For children and young people living in secure care

The purpose, delivery and infrastructure of secure care will change. Scotland’s response to the small number of children who need this level of security, care and protection will look radically different in 2030 compared to 2020 (Pg 81). The contradictions between settings and in the overall provision of Secure Care will have been collectively addressed (Pg 80).
Fewer children will live in Secure Care. Children will only be placed in highly restricted environments when necessary and not simply as an escalation when other interventions have failed (Pg 81).
Planning and provision of Secure Care will reflect the needs of children in Scotland to ensure there are sufficient places for those that need them (Pg 82). Children will not be held in Secure Care due to inadequate community options, as there will be accessible and available alternative community-based support, aligned with the principles of intensive family support (Pg 83).
The underlying principle of Secure Care will be the provision of therapeutic, trauma-informed support (Pg 81). A range of therapeutic interventions will be available within Secure Care in Scotland and all children will receive all that they need to support healing and rehabilitation (Pg 80). This will include access to support for the high numbers of children who have additional support needs to achieve the highest possible standard of health (Pg 83).
Children in Secure Care will have access to education services to support and enhance their learning, rather than disrupt it.
Where safe to do so, children in Secure Care will be supported to maintain good contact with their family (Pg 83).
The use of Secure Care will always uphold children’s rights. Children will be involved and listened to. They will be given the chance to express their views and are told about their legal rights of appeal through a culture of care that meets their needs and helps them understand their legal protections (Pg 83).
Specific residential, therapeutic settings will be available for girls who have been sexually abused and exploited (Pg 81).
All children who have been sexually abused and exploited will have the specific, therapeutic care and support they need to recover and be kept safe. Their rights are recognised and upheld in a trauma informed way, so that their pain is not exacerbated by where they live (Pg 81).
There will be greater scope to remain in Secure Care for those who have turned 18. Children leaving Secure Care will receive support. There is investment in supportive intermediate settings so that young people leaving Secure Care are able to access the support they need (Pg 81/82/84).

For unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will have their rights upheld and receive the same care and support as any other child. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children will be treated as ‘looked after’ children and they are placed in caring, supportive settings with access to education, health services and other appropriate services as required. There are no barriers to their participation (Pg 65).
When the age of an unaccompanied child is unclear there may be circumstances where a health assessment is required. This should only be when necessary and done so in a way that limits trauma and distress. (Pg 65).
The workforce supporting asylum seeking children will understand their religious and cultural contexts. Those traditions and cultural needs will be respected by all those involved in their care to ensure their rights upheld (Pg 65)
The workforce will be alive to the issues of human trafficking. When a child is suspected of being the victim of trafficking they will be given protection (Pg 65).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Leadership (People)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, there will be strong leadership across all of Scotland’s workforce that models and supports the values and principles of the broader workforce.

This means:

Values-based leadership will exist at all levels and in all settings of the ‘care system’ (Pg 99)
Strong leadership will be evident across and throughout the entire ‘care system.’ This leadership will support and embed the changes made to nurture and support families to stay together (Pg 17).
Leaders will model an approach that encourages a culture of speaking up and recognising the judgment of the workforce (Pg 36). There will not be an over reliance on the confidence and leadership of individuals to go beyond boundaries. There will be a reassessment of professional guidelines and boundaries to make kind and loving behaviour the norm. (Pg 23).
Leadership will value the voice and opinion of children and the workforce and will nurture a culture of appropriate information sharing (Pg 36).
Settings of care will have established a leadership culture that upholds children’s rights and applies the values of care, attachment, attunement and co-regulation in day to day life (Pg 85).
Leadership will be based on a broader understanding of risk and of the importance of natural, warm human relationships (Pg 103).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Recruitment and retention (People)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will have established a new way of thinking about the workforce, from definition, learning and training and recruitment through to supervision and retention (Pg 96). Measures will be in place to support and enhance recruitment and retention of those who care for Scotland’s children.

This means:

There will be enough skilled and confident members of the unpaid and paid workforce to meet the needs of Scotland’s children, families and care experienced adults. That workforce will be supported to develop the space within which loving care and nurturing relationships can evolve (Pg 103).
The ability of the workforce to act with care and compassion will be prioritised and they will be supported to develop the space within which loving care and nurturing relationships can develop (Pg 103). Barriers to that, such as workload, environmental conditions, and unnecessary bureaucratic processes, will be mitigated.
Anyone working alongside children, families and care experienced adults, including midwives, health visitors, family support workers and social workers, will be well resourced and supported and have sufficient capacity to care in the way the promise demands (Pg 48).
Employment conditions will allow people involved in the care of children to flourish and feel valued. This includes with respect to workload, remuneration, secure employment status and environmental conditions (Pg 101).
The number and quality of kinship, foster carers, adopters and other carers available to meet the needs of sibling groups will exceed the needs of the children experiencing the ‘care system’ (Pg 62).
The workforce, including foster carers, will be recruited on the basis of their values (Pg 77/ 79). When things get difficult, values will be revisited both individually and organisationally (Pg 105).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Rules, processes and culture (People)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, it will be clear that the primary purpose of care is to develop nurturing, kind, compassionate, trusting and respectful relationships so that children feel safe and loved (Pg 99). Relational practice with children and families is valued (Pg 100) and every care setting facilitates a relationship-based approach. Rules and regulations that get in the way of this will have been removed and the workforce will have been trained and supported to be attune to children's physical and emotional states (Pg 72).

This means:

It will have been acknowledged that the previous system of rules and safeguards did not serve children well. Children's safety means having real, loving, and consistent relationships, which will be prioritised over rules and processes that fail to keep children safe. (Pg 17).
Scotland will have broadened its understanding of risk. Risk will be contextualised with the differentiation between risk associated with crisis and risk associated with other behaviours (Pg 105).
Children will be included in a meaningful loving way within their foster family without barriers. Rules and regulations support children to be fully included with the life of their foster carers (p.77).
There will be no structural, systemic or cultural barriers, including regulatory barriers, for children and young people to have regular, positive experiences (Pg 104). For example, staying over at a friend’s house, going on holiday or having a relationship (Pg 88).
Every care setting will facilitate a relationship-based approach (Pg 72) and the workforce will have received appropriate support and training to work in this way alongside children and families.
Children will not be further stigmatised, and any rules that do so (Pg 79/ 87).
There will have been a reassessment of professional guidelines and boundaries to make kind and loving behaviour the norm (Pg 23). All caregivers will know that their primary purpose is to develop nurturing, patient, kind, compassionate, trusting and respectful relationships so that children in their care feel loved and safe (Pg 73).
A strong ‘national values framework’ will be in place for all of Scotland’s workforce. These values will be multidisciplinary, and fundamental for people who work with children in any capacity including all those with ongoing parenting responsibilities for young adults(Pg 93/ 99).
The workforce will have a different conception of risk taking, where risk taking is seen as a normal part of care. This shift in mindset will be underpinned by developing the confidence of the workforce (Pg 104).
All of Scotland’s institutions, organisations, national bodies and Local Authorities are aware of, understand and fully implement all their parenting responsibilities. (Pg 93).
There is support for the workforce to bring their whole selves to their work, to have a strong understanding of themselves, and to act in a way that feels natural and not impeded by a professional construct (Pg 101). Scotland will support and resource the workforce to put theory into good practice by supporting and building relationships with children (page 72).
The workforce is supported and trusted to make sensible, thoughtful, caring judgments. Sometimes carers will make decisions to not allow a child or young person to do something. This will be understood as a normal part of growing up and will not need to be explained within the language of professional risk assessments. It is understood that those decisions come out of and are based on a relationship of trust, respect and love (Pg 88).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Workforce support (People)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland’s workforce will be able to provide the loving and attentive care all children, young people, families and care experienced adults need. There will be a recognition that the workforce includes anyone involved in the care and/or support of children, young people, families and care experienced adults (Pg 97). Children and young people will thrive and feel loved because the workforce is nurtured and supported to create a sense of home, family, friends, community, and belonging for those they care for (Pg 96).

This means:

For the workforce

All those working with and alongside care experienced children, young people and adults will be supported to create a rights respecting environment where children feel they can raise concerns and complaints and receive comments and feedback (Pg 61).
All members of the workforce will experience reflection, supervision and structured support, which will be recognised as an essential part of practice (Pg 10).
Feedback will be a routine component of development (Pg 61).
There will be recognition that Scotland’s workforce includes survivors of trauma. Those with lived experience will be supported to be part of the workforce so that they can nurture their instinct to contribute whilst also acknowledging the pain that may come from their involvement (Pg 100).
Support for the workforce will be available, effective, flexible and regular. It will ensure the workforce will be:

Present and emotionally available to the children in their care.
Able to work autonomously so that they can make decisions that are natural and thoughtful, and given the tools to exercise effective judgement. (page 104)
Supported to care for children who have had deeply troubling experiences (Pg 77).

Kinship carers and foster carers will be recognised as part of the broader workforce. In particular, they will:

Be confident that they will receive the support they need to care for children and young people in their care. That will mirror the principles of intensive family support so that care is supported, encouraged and resourced to maintain lasting relationships with children, young people and care experienced adults (Pg 67).
Take breaks. Like all families, carers will have opportunities for babysitting and short breaks, so that they, and the children and young people they care for, can benefit from time away. Short breaks will support children and young people to continue to be part of the family (Pg 101).
Be supported and have ongoing supervision and time for reflection to prevent overwhelm (Pg 74). This includes recognition that foster carers may experience secondary trauma whilst supporting children and young people with their own trauma (Pg 77).
Learning and training will have been redesigned to ensure the workforce is well supported and confident to work across disciplines and alongside different types of carers and professionals (Pg 107). This redesign will mean that:
The way Scotland cares is underpinned by the guiding principle of attachment and is informed, responsive and reflective about the nature and impact of trauma (Pg 72).
Role-appropriate access to initial and lifelong learning is provided, focusing on attachment theory, trauma-responsive care, wellbeing, and children's rights (Pg 108).
Everyone involved in the Children’s Hearings System, including legal representatives, is properly trained in the impact of trauma, childhood development, neurodiversity and children’s rights (Pg 42).
Gaps in workforce training in sectors, such as education, justice and health, have been addressed (Pg 107).
Child development is part of essential foundation learning for anyone working with children (Pg 107).
There has been active consideration of the development of multidisciplinary foundation learning for a range of professionals, covering basic principles of human development and children's rights (Pg 107).
There are clear learning pathways at all levels of the workforce to foster self-awareness, emotional competency and human connection through relationships. This encourages joint learning through informal education, mentoring, coaching and support networks, as well as opportunities for shared reflective practice (Pg 108).

For children, young people and care experienced adults

Reflective practice for the workforce (coaching, mentoring, and supervision) will include things that matter to children, including how loved they feel, how their rights are upheld and how stigma is being reduced. This will emphasise support for the worker and their relationship with the child over evaluation of performance (Pg 100).
Care experienced adults will feel supported through their lives and will not experience barriers to this support because of challenges with the workforce.

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Data and information (Scaffolding)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will be taking a different approach to how it collects data and information (Pg 13).

This means:

Scotland will be collecting data that shows what matters to children, young people and care experienced adults rather than data that only matters to the system (Pg 115).
Improvements will have been made to how data is used in decision-making (Pg 13). Those who collect data will proactively listen to the experiences of children, young people, families, and care experienced adults, and those who support them, and that information will be treated as valuable evidence. Data will enable holistic support instead of being a barrier to that support.
The data Scotland collects will be of high quality and as close to complete as possible. Common gaps, such as a lack of equalities information, information on brothers and sisters, and data on adoption breakdowns will be addressed. Data on the extent and reasons for adoption breakdown must be collected, which must follow the experience of children whose adoption has broken down, recognising the prevalence of and impact on late teens and early adulthood (Pg 76).
Incomplete data will no longer be a barrier to data linkage or use. Data will be joined up, allowing people and organisations to see entire journeys and changes over time. Joined up data will also improve accountability for outcomes instead of just activities or inputs (Pg 13).
The workforce will be supported to capture and use data and information on experiences and relationships in addition to outputs and outcomes. They will have the capacity and skills to use this high quality, holistic data in decision making and not just in reporting and research.
Services will be designed on the basis of need - backed by diverse, strong data and evidence - rather than on an acceptance of how the system has always operated (Pg 110).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Governance (Scaffolding)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, governance arrangements around the 'care system' will be fully established. The rights of children, young people and their families, and care experienced adults will be placed at the centre, complexity will have reduced, and accountability mechanisms will be in place.

The resetting public services report sets out five principles that should be built into a reset of how Scotland’s public services are governed to keep the promise:

Leadership to improve lives: (find out more on Leadership.)

Leaders will state a conscious commitment to improve the lives of care experienced people
How leaders will improve the lives of care experienced children and families will be built into their objectives.
Leaders will be held to account for their part in partnership working and their contribution to care experienced people’s lives

Bespoke frontline services:

Services will give space to understand the unique lives of children, young people and their families and will protect long-term relationships.
Staff will be empowered to do what will improve lives.

Sharpen accountability for outcomes

Scottish Government and COSLA will agree an accountability framework for keeping the promise at a national level.
Data will focus on outcomes
The reporting burden on public bodies will be minimised.
Public bodies and partnerships will be held to account for their collective contribution.
Scrutiny bodies will prioritise what matters to children, young people and their families.
There will be a more strategic approach to risk management.

Focus money on prevention and link it to outcomes (find out more on money and commissioning)

Simplifying public services and streamline scrutiny and inspection (find out more on scrutiny and inspection).

These five principles were taken from the Resetting public services: Governance and accountability to keep the promise report.

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Health (Scaffolding)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, all children, young people, families and care experienced adults will have access to all the physical and mental health support they need, including thoughtful, trauma informed therapies (Pg 89).

This means:

Scotland will stop creating extra, stigmatising processes for children and young people simply because they are care experienced (Pg 89).
All children and young people will have access to regular check-ups, such as dentist and health appointments (Pg 89).
The workforce, and in particular family carers, will know that they have a role in supporting children and young people to have good overall health including dental, physical, mental and sexual. That must be done through caring, nurturing relationships that model good habits and a healthy approach to life (Pg 89).
The model for mental health support for children in care will operate effectively. Access to timely, appropriate therapies will be available to, but not limited to, those who have experience of care (Pg 51).
Children and young people will not require a significant mental health diagnosis to be able to access support. Scotland will have a range of timely, trauma-informed, and thoughtful support (mental health) therapies available to those that require it, regardless of diagnosis (Pg 51).
There will be timely access to mental health support before crisis point, to avoid hospitalisation. This will be available as long as it is needed and available for children who are in hospital so that services and families can plan for return to the community (Pg 51/ 84).
There will be appropriate and sufficient provision of inpatient (mental health) services for children across Scotland (Pg 84).
There will be criteria-free, community-based access to therapies that do not stigmatise, but instead help and support children, young people, families, and care experienced adults to work through difficulties they are facing (Pg 51).
There will be greater availability of family therapy, for all families (kinship, foster, adoptive, family of origin) so that accessing support is not stigmatised, but seen as something that a range of families may require throughout their lives (Pg 51). This includes services to support parents and carers’ mental health at all stages of their parenting journey (Pg 55).
There will be effective and flexible collaboration between services supporting adult mental health and statutory children's services (Pg 55).
Scotland will recognise its responsibilities to those who have spent significant time in hospital through the decisions of the State and ensure they are properly supported to access all they need. Support will be continuous and ensure services and families can plan for a return to the community (Pg 84).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Justice (Scaffolding)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will have developed a more progressive, rights-based youth justice approach that builds on the Kilbrandon principles and makes them a reality for all (Pg 41).

This means:

Care experienced children and young people will not be criminalised (Pg 40). Children who have often experienced the failures of the state in the provision of their care will not be locked up (Pg 91).
The workforce will be supported to behave and treat children in a relational way, rather than procedural and process driven (Pg 91).
The totality of children’s cases will be dealt with in environments that uphold their rights and allows them to effectively participate in proceedings. It will have been accepted that traditional criminal courts are not settings in which children’s rights can be upheld and where they can be heard (Pg 41) and alternative approaches will have been developed.
When children and young people are before the courts on offence grounds, they will be dealt with in a way that is appropriate, proportionate, age-sensitive, trauma-informed and responsive (Pg 41).
More efforts will have been made to keep children within the Children's Hearings System. If cases are tried in formal criminal courts, disposal (for the vast majority of offences) will occur within the Children's Hearings System (Pg 42).
The minimum age of criminal responsibility will be in line with the most progressive global Governments (Pg 91).
16 and 17-year-olds will be accommodated within Secure Care rather than Young Offenders Institutions and the prison estate, including children who are on remand and who have been sentenced (Pg 82)
Young people who turn 18 while in Secure Care will not be automatically transferred to a Young Offenders Institute (Pg 82).
Children will only go to Secure Care when all other options have been fully explored and for the shortest possible time (Pg 91).
Secure Care will be small, secure, safe and trauma informed that uphold the totality of children’s rights (Pg 91).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Money and commissioning (Scaffolding)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will be taking a different approach to how it invests in children and families. Children in Scotland will not feel the monetisation of their care (Pg 77) and the money Scotland spends on its ‘care system’ will be invested in effective services that meet the needs of its children, young people, families and care experienced adults.

This means:

Prevention will be the primary focus of services and therefore also of investment. Acute and crisis services will be phased out (Pg 111). An approach to systematically disinvest in the services and processes that are no longer meeting need will be in place to ensure funding is available for investment.
There will be no place for profiting in how Scotland cares for its children (Pg 111). Scotland will be avoiding the monetisation of the care of children and the marketisation of care will be prevented (Pg 111). Regulatory bodies will scrutinise any presence of profit to ensure that funds are properly directed to the care and support of children (Pg 111).
Services within the ‘care system’ will not profit from care. Any presence of surplus funds generated within any part of the ‘care system’ will be directed to the care and support of children and young people. There will no longer be targets associated with adopting children and young people, including financial and profit based targets (Pg 75). Processes of regulation, scrutiny and commissioning will support the removal of profit from the care system.
Strategic planning will reflect the needs of children in local authorities and the challenges in the management of places and sustainability of settings of care will have been discussed and addressed (Pg 111).
Services will have changed according to need to get away from a systemisation of care (Pg 111). A process to identify investment and disinvestment opportunities across the whole system will have been undertaken with a strategic approach to funding embedded into organisational and budgeting processes across Scotland in place. That process will have involved organisations working together to align and pool budgets to enable investment. There will have been a decisive shift in emphasis towards early intervention and prevention across all services. As the number of children and families requiring a service reduces, the service will become obsolete or be refined so that it meets current and future need (Pg 111).
Children and their families’ voices will be heard and taken into account when Scotland commissions services so that they are the centre of decision-making (Pg 110). The views and voices of people who services work alongside will be actively involved and included in the work to shape, create and evaluate them.
Scotland will ensure public service planning, commissioning strategies and procurement are attuned to the needs of brothers and sisters to promote those relationships and prevent separation (Pg 62).
When services are meeting standards and making a positive impact, ensuring stability will be key to funding decisions. Longer-term commissioning, grant programmes and contracts will be the norm, rather than the exception (Pg 112).
Commissioning of services for children and families will not be undertaken on a ‘cost and volume’ basis, but instead will be based on principles that underpin relational working and longer-term partnerships, breaking down silos, systems and organisational interests. Levels of payment will not determine where and who are the best people to care for a child (Pg 78).
Wherever in the best interest of the child, and when it reflects their needs and wishes, the focus of caring for Scotland’s children and young people must remain the responsibility of Local Authorities in Scotland, and children and young people will remain within their communities.
It will be widely acknowledged that accepting children and young people from outside Scotland is a breach of their fundamental human rights. As such, Scotland will no longer sell care placements to Local Authorities outside of Scotland (Pg 110).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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Rights (Scaffolding)

Where Scotland needs to be by 2030

By 2030, Scotland will respect, uphold, champion and defend the rights of children and recognise that their rights are most often realised through relationships with loving, attentive caregivers (Pg 26).

This means:

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) will be fully incorporated and upheld (Pg 26).
If children are removed from their families, their rights will be upheld as a minimum standard for their care. There will be a culture of care in place where the whole of the workforce respects, upholds, champions and defends the rights of children for whom they are responsible (Pg 26).
Children and carers will have access to information about their rights and entitlements at any point in their journey of care (Pg 26).
All children and young people, whatever their educational setting, will learn about their rights in a developmentally appropriate way (Pg 71).
The system will revolve around the rights of the child so their health, education and right to play are never compromised by contact with the 'care system' (Pg 26).
Scotland will be upholding the rights of the child in a way that does not reinforce a focus on policy, process and procedure but supports the ability of children and those around them to connect and develop relationships and cultures that uphold their rights as a matter of course (Pg 26).
There will be a universal, commonly understood, definition of care experience as it relates to rights and entitlements and it will reflect the ongoing responsibility to those affected, recognising that parents seek to provide care and support for their children beyond the age of 18 (Pg 118).
Scotland will have ensured current definitions that act as the access point for rights and entitlements are inclusive enough to benefit all young people for whom Scotland has had parenting responsibility and whose family life has been disrupted by the decisions of the State (Pg 118).
The system will recognise and mitigates the impact that that failure to provide for the needs of vulnerable adults, through the social security system, access to services and support, has on their ability to care and provide nurturing, loving relationships (Pg 27).

For children at risk of or who may experience restraint:

Scotland will be a nation that does not restraint its children unless the only option is to ensure their safety. and in those cases will always follow a model which focuses on co-regulation, so that the workforce reflects on their responses. The right of children to be protected from violence is the primary consideration (Pg 86).
Scotland will have created environments which actively reduces the likelihood of restraint is as important as responding appropriately to individual children in crisis.
Settings of care will have established a leadership culture that upholds children’s rights and applies the values of care, attachment, attunement and co-regulation in day to day life. The workforce will be nurtured and supported, recognising that children may exhibit challenging behaviours that may at times make them feel scared (Pg 85).
All restraints and use of seclusion will be recorded and reported so Scotland understands its use and monitor progress towards its cessation. Reports will reflect what children and the workforce say about their experience of restraint and prioritise a full understanding of the impact of restraint not only on just one child but on others living and working in a location where restraint takes place (Pg 86).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

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